Introduction

Golf can be an expensive sport, especially when you're looking at the latest drivers, irons and putters straight off the shelf. With many new club releases costing hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds for a full set, it's no surprise that more golfers are turning to the used market.

But are second-hand golf clubs actually worth buying?

The short answer is yes. Modern golf clubs are built to last, and buying used can be one of the smartest ways to improve your game while saving money. In this guide, we'll explain the key benefits of buying second-hand golf clubs and what to look for before making a purchase.

Golf Club Technology Doesn't Change as Fast as You Think

One of the biggest misconceptions in golf is that you need the latest clubs to play your best.

While most manufacturers release new models every year, the performance gains between generations are often relatively small. A driver released two or three years ago can still offer excellent distance, forgiveness and consistency compared to the newest version.

For many golfers, a premium model from a few seasons ago can provide better value than a brand new budget club.

Save Hundreds of Pounds Without Sacrificing Performance

The most obvious benefit of buying used golf clubs is cost.

A new iron set can easily cost over £1,000, while a current generation driver often retails for £500 or more. By choosing a quality second-hand set, golfers can often save 30 to 60 percent compared to buying new. In fact, it's entirely possible to find a quality used driver for under £200, giving you access to trusted performance without the new release price tag.

These savings can be used elsewhere, whether that's lessons, green fees, golf trips or additional clubs.

Access Premium Clubs for the Same Budget

Instead of buying an entry-level set new, the same budget may allow you to purchase a premium used set from brands such as TaylorMade, Callaway, Ping, Titleist or Cobra.

This means you can often get higher quality materials, better technology and improved performance for the same spend. For example, a new budget iron set typically costs between £400 and £500, and a premium used iron set often falls in that same £400 to £500 range. In many cases, the premium used option offers significantly better value for the same money.

Used Clubs Are Ideal for Beginners

Many new golfers aren't sure how often they'll play or what type of clubs suit them best.

Buying used allows beginners to spend less upfront, experiment with different club types, upgrade later if needed, and learn the game without a huge investment. For someone starting out, second-hand clubs are often the most sensible choice.

Modern Golf Clubs Are Built to Last

Unlike some sporting equipment, golf clubs can remain in excellent playing condition for many years.

Provided the faces, grooves and shafts are in good condition, a club that's a few years old can still perform exactly as intended. Many golfers are surprised to learn that clubs from five or even ten years ago can still be highly competitive.

Better for the Environment

Buying second-hand golf clubs isn't just good for your wallet, it's also good for the environment.

Extending the lifespan of golf equipment reduces waste and helps minimise the demand for new manufacturing. Choosing used clubs is a simple way to make a more sustainable purchasing decision.

What Should You Look for When Buying Used Golf Clubs?

Not all used clubs are equal, so it's worth taking a closer look before you buy.

Start with the clubhead condition. Check for excessive face wear, deep sky marks, and any cracks or structural damage that could affect performance. Next, examine the shaft condition. Steel shafts should be free of dents, while graphite shafts should show no splits or cracks, and you should also watch out for signs of previous repairs. The grips are just as important. Worn grips, hard or slippery rubber, and uneven wear patterns can all affect your feel and control on the course. For a more detailed breakdown of what each condition rating means, take a look at our club condition guide.

Finally, consider the seller's reputation. A trustworthy seller will offer clear condition grading, detailed photographs, honest descriptions and a fair returns policy. Buying from a trusted golf retailer can help remove much of the uncertainty associated with private sales.

Are Second-Hand Golf Clubs Worth It?

For the vast majority of golfers, absolutely.

Used golf clubs offer exceptional value, access to premium equipment and the opportunity to play high quality gear without paying full retail prices. Whether you're a beginner building your first set or an experienced golfer looking for an upgrade, buying second-hand can be one of the smartest equipment decisions you make.

Conclusion

The idea that golfers need the latest clubs every season is largely a myth. Modern golf equipment is built to perform for years, meaning there are fantastic savings to be found on the used market. By choosing carefully and buying from a reputable retailer, you can enjoy premium clubs, proven performance and significant savings compared to buying new.

At Next2NewGolf, every club is inspected, graded and photographed so you can buy with confidence and find the right clubs at the right price.

TaylorMade Breaks Its Annual Driver Cycle: No New Driver Coming in 2027

For the first time since 2001, TaylorMade will not launch a new driver model. The Qi4D, currently on shelves, will remain the brand's flagship through 2027. The company has confirmed it is shifting its entire metalwoods lineup, drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids, onto a two-year release cycle.

It's not a cancellation in the traditional sense. There's no driver that got shelved mid-development. Instead, TaylorMade is simply choosing not to launch a new one next year, breaking a streak of annual releases that has defined the brand for nearly 25 years.

The Reasoning

According to Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade's VP of product creation, the move reflects how much harder it's become to deliver meaningful year-over-year gains in driver technology. The performance curve has flattened, and squeezing out genuine improvements now takes closer to two and a half years rather than one. Bazzel also pointed to a shift in how golfers shop: the average driver purchase cycle has stretched from roughly 3.4 years in 2012 to nearly five years today, as flagship prices have climbed significantly over the past decade. Releasing a new model annually no longer matches how long people are actually holding onto their clubs.

There's a financial logic here too. Spreading R&D costs over two years instead of one is healthier for TaylorMade's margins, and holding a flagship price point for a full two years reduces the discounting that typically comes with clearing out last year's model.

What's particularly significant is who is making this decision. For years, TaylorMade was arguably the company most associated with aggressive release cycles. During the 2010s it wasn't unusual for the brand to launch multiple drivers within a single year, creating a reputation for constant innovation but also criticism that products became outdated almost immediately. Moving to a two-year cycle therefore isn't just a scheduling change; it's a fundamental shift in philosophy from the company that arguably defined golf's annual product race.

How TaylorMade Compares to the Rest of the Industry

This brings TaylorMade in line with Titleist and Ping, both of which already run two-year (or longer) cycles for their drivers. It also matches what TaylorMade already does with its irons, wedges, and golf balls. Metalwoods were simply the last category still operating on the old annual calendar. That leaves Callaway and Cobra as the only major manufacturers still committed to launching new driver lineups every single year, a distinction that could become a talking point, or a point of differentiation, as the rest of the industry slows down.

What It Means for Buyers

For many golfers, this is likely to be good news, and the Qi4D itself makes TaylorMade's case easy to defend. The driver has earned genuine tour credibility in 2026. Rory McIlroy reportedly needed just three shots before declaring "that's it, we can go for lunch" after switching to it ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC, calling it the fastest driver switch he had ever made. Independent testing has been similarly glowing, with MyGolfSpy naming it their 2026 Most Wanted Driver and reviewers consistently praising its spin consistency, ball speed, and forgiveness across the face. Holding a product this well-received for two years is a very different proposition to holding a mediocre one.

With the Qi4D in flagship position through 2027, fitters and retailers get more time to actually learn the product, which should translate into better-informed fittings rather than rushed sales cycles driven by new launches. Buyers also won't face the usual sting of seeing their expensive new purchase become "last year's model" within twelve months. The Qi4D will remain the current flagship for a full two-year stretch.

The secondhand market is where things get more interesting. A slower release cycle generally supports stronger resale values, since there is no annual flood of newly "outdated" drivers pushing prices down. Expect Qi4D values to hold up more steadily than previous TaylorMade flagships did during the annual-refresh era. On the flip side, golfers who prefer buying last year's model at a discount once a new driver launches may find fewer of those opportunities in 2027, since there won't be a new release to trigger widespread markdowns.

Conclusion

Whether this becomes the new normal across the industry, or simply highlights Callaway and Cobra as the last holdouts of annual drops, is the bigger question. But if TaylorMade can point to a driver that Rory McIlroy put in the bag after three swings and never looked back, the argument for slowing down makes itself.

Tour Pros Still Using Old Models in 2026 | Next2NewGolf

When Aaron Rai closed out the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink with a final round 65, he did it with a TaylorMade M6 driver that's been out of production for years. It's one of the most striking proofs in recent memory that newer doesn't automatically mean better, and Rai is far from the only player at the top of the game who feels that way.

For many golfers, it's easy to assume that the newest clubs are automatically the best clubs. Every January, manufacturers roll out a fresh wave of drivers, irons and wedges promising more ball speed, more forgiveness, more everything. But walk down the range at any PGA Tour event in 2026 and you'll see plenty of the best players in the world swinging clubs that are five, six, even ten years old.

That's not nostalgia, and it's not a budget decision for these players. It's proof of one of the most useful equipment lessons golfers of any level can learn: performance beats release date, every single time. Driver, iron and wedge technology tends to move in small steps, not giant leaps, which means a strong model from a few years ago can still go toe-to-toe with this year's flagship release.

Main takeaways:

• You don't need this year's release to play elite golf.

• Equipment gains move in small steps, not big ones.

• Fitting matters more than release year.

• Previous generation and secondhand clubs are where the real value sits.

10 Tour Professionals still using “old” clubs in 2026

Scottie Scheffler

You may be surprised to find the world number 1 on this list, but in reality the only “new” addition in Scottie Scheffler’s bag is his Qi4D 7-wood, while the rest of his setup is built around models that are several years old rather than constant upgrades. 

At the top end, he plays a 2024 TaylorMade Qi10 driver and matching Qi10 3-wood, both of which he has tested against newer prototypes but continues to favour because of their consistent launch and dispersion. In contrast, his long game still includes a Srixon Z U85 driving iron from 2018, a club that remains in the bag for its controlled flight and reliability off the tee.

His iron set is the TaylorMade P7TW, originally released in 2019, while his wedges date back to 2020 and his putter is a 2023 model. In fact, most of the clubs currently in Scheffler's bag have been there throughout the most successful period of his career, helping him rise to and maintain world number one status while contributing to all four of his major championship victories.

Overall, the picture is clear: Scheffler’s bag is not defined by constant change, but by long-term trust in equipment that already performs. Even with access to every new release, he only makes changes when there is a clear performance reason, not simply because something is newer.

Brooks Koepka 

While equipment manufacturers release new products every year, Brooks Koepka continues to rely on two clubs that date back to an entirely different era of golf equipment.

The first is a TaylorMade M2 Tour 3-wood, originally released in 2017. Nearly a decade later, it remains one of the longest-serving clubs in Koepka's bag, having outlasted multiple generations of fairway woods from every major manufacturer. Alongside it sits a Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3 iron from 2014, a club that has remained a trusted option despite Nike leaving the equipment market shortly after its release.

What's most remarkable is that these clubs have been present throughout the most successful period of Koepka's career. The M2 fairway wood and Nike driving iron were both in the bag during his dominant run of four major championship victories in just over two years between 2017 and 2019, and they have remained trusted weapons as he added a fifth major title to his résumé.

That longevity says a lot. Koepka has had access to countless newer alternatives over the years, yet these two clubs continue to earn their place through performance rather than sentiment. In a sport obsessed with the latest technology, they are proof that once a club earns a player's trust on the biggest stages, replacing it becomes far more difficult than manufacturers would like.

Matt Fitzpatrick

Matt Fitzpatrick's bag is another clear example of proven performance outweighing newer technology. While manufacturers continue to release new iron models every year, Fitzpatrick still games a Ping i210 4-iron alongside Ping S55 irons from 5-9. Those models were originally released in 2018 and 2013 respectively, making the S55 irons the oldest clubs featured in this list.

The combo set reflects a deliberate split in priorities: the i210 is a players' distance iron, built with a bit more forgiveness for the longer, harder-to-strike club at the top of the set, while the S55 is a far more traditional, compact design aimed squarely at control and feel in the scoring irons. Pairing the two lets Fitzpatrick lean on a slightly more forgiving head where mishits are costliest, without sacrificing the workability he wants from 5-iron down.

What's particularly interesting is that Fitzpatrick's reliance on older irons hasn't held him back in the slightest. In fact, his 2022 US Open victory at Brookline remains the defining achievement of his career so far, alongside multiple PGA Tour wins this season and a place among the world's top-ranked players. Despite having access to every new iron release on the market, he continues to trust a setup that delivers the consistency, distance control and feel he wants.

Like many elite ball strikers, Fitzpatrick's decision highlights an important point: once a player finds irons that produce the right numbers and inspire confidence, replacing them simply because something newer exists becomes very difficult.

Ludvig Aberg

Even one of the most talked-about young ball strikers in the game is leaning on equipment that's a few years removed from the cutting edge. Aberg's Titleist TSR2 driver dates back to 2022, and his TaylorMade Stealth 2 fairway woods, used as both a 3-wood and a 7-wood, were released back in 2023. He has tested newer options in both categories, including Titleist's GT2 and a TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood, but kept reverting back to the older heads each time.

The TSR2 is built for players who want distance without giving up the ability to shape shots, which suits a ball striker of Aberg's level far better than a head designed primarily to correct mishits. Paired with a low-to-mid-launching shaft, it gives him tight dispersion off the tee, something that's mattered more to him than whatever marginal gains a newer driver might offer. The Stealth 2 fairway woods tell a similar story: a carbon face design that still produces faster ball speeds than most current alternatives, with enough shot-shaping flexibility to suit his eye.

Aberg's irons are a slightly newer Titleist T100 model, so this isn't a player frozen entirely in the past. It's a player making selective, deliberate choices about where older equipment still wins.

Aaron Rai

Aaron Rai's rise into the world's elite has happened with equipment that's notably older than most of his rivals'. His TaylorMade M6 driver dates back to 2019, several release cycles behind TaylorMade's current Qi series lineup, while his irons are the same TaylorMade P7TW model mentioned earlier in Scottie Scheffler's bag, a tour-only blade built with Tiger Woods that's clearly trusted by more than one elite ball striker. His fairway wood is the more modern Qi10, giving his setup a mix of old and new rather than a complete throwback.

Rai is known as one of the most accurate drivers of the ball on tour, regularly ranking near the top of strokes gained: off the tee leaderboards built on precision rather than raw clubhead speed. That accuracy has clearly mattered more to him than chasing the newest face technology or marginal ball speed gains newer drivers promise. The P7TW irons reinforce the same priority, a compact, minimal-offset blade with very little forgiveness built in, designed entirely around feedback and control.

The proof of just how well this older setup performs is about as strong as it gets: that seven-year-old M6 was in the bag when Rai won the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink, closing with a 5-under 65 to claim his first major title and become the first English-born winner of the tournament in over a century. He had every chance to switch beforehand and never needed to. When the numbers work, the calendar year on the sole plate becomes irrelevant.

Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas has built one of the most efficient ball striking games on tour around two fairway woods that predate several equipment cycles: a TS3 3-wood from 2018 and a 915 5-wood from 2014. The 5-wood in particular is one of the oldest non-putters in play anywhere on the PGA Tour, older even than several clubs from Nike's now-defunct equipment line.

What makes the story interesting is Thomas has been blunt about why he keeps both of them. Asked directly whether he planned to swap out the 915, he explained that it isn't about struggling to hit newer models. It's about distance control: he's tried the latest 5-woods on the market and found they simply fly further than he wants from that club. It gives him a dependable carry of around 230 yards that he can stretch to roughly 265 when needed, a window he hasn't been able to replicate with newer designs without losing the precision he relies on. The TS3 gets less of the spotlight but does the same job at the top of his fairway wood setup, holding its own against newer Titleist releases on launch and spin.

Thomas isn't alone in this either. Several other current pros carry older fairway woods for the same reason: once a club produces a specific number they like, on carry, on spin, on shot shape, replacing it becomes a hard sell regardless of how long it's been in the bag. Major champions don't keep clubs around out of sentimentality. They keep them because the data says so.

Hideki Matsuyama 

Matsuyama's bag is a great example of mixing and matching across release years rather than buying into one brand's full annual lineup. The Cobra Radspeed Tour 5-wood dates back to 2021, and while it's been through multiple Cobra fairway wood releases since, Matsuyama has simply never found a reason to replace it. His Srixon Z Forged II irons are also 3 years old, having been released in 2023. They're built around a compact, players' profile with minimal offset and a forged feel through impact, which suits a swing as technically precise as his. Newer Srixon iron releases have leaned slightly more toward forgiveness and distance, neither of which is high on Matsuyama's priority list compared to control.

His RTX4 wedges tell a similar story. Cleveland has moved its newer RTX6 and RTZ lines toward a harder, more durable steel alloy designed to resist groove wear over time, a useful upgrade for most golfers but one that also changes the feel and sound at impact compared to the older, softer forging Matsuyama is used to. For a player whose short game is built on touch and spin control, that's exactly the kind of change that isn't worth making just because something newer exists. The common thread across all three clubs is consistent strike quality and predictable spin, which matter far more to a major champion's short game than whatever's new in the catalog this year. That kind of equipment stability isn't an accident. It's a deliberate choice, repeated year after year.

Viktor Hovland 

Hovland's i210s are the same model Fitzpatrick uses, now well outside PING's current iron lineup, having been succeeded by multiple newer players' distance designs in the years since release. For a player whose ball-striking is widely regarded as some of the purest on tour, the choice says a lot about how little Hovland feels he's giving up by staying with an older design, particularly in a category where forgiveness and feel both matter.

Interestingly, Hovland only fully moved off his PING G425 driver in June 2026, at the RBC Canadian Open, switching into a PING G440 LST after roughly six years and six of his seven PGA Tour victories with the older head. That same week he also added a TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood, replacing the older Sim fairway wood he'd carried for years past its retail run. The G425 in particular had become something of a known quantity among equipment watchers on tour, a driver model most amateurs would associate with a previous generation of forgiving, game-improvement design rather than something a top ten player in the world would still be gaming years later. He'd actually tested PING's newer G440 models on and off for two full seasons before finally committing, repeatedly reverting back to the G425 whenever the new driver's higher launch or rightward tendency showed up in testing. That driver switch is a good reminder that even players who hold onto old equipment for a long time eventually do change, but it's performance and feedback that drives the decision, not the release calendar.

Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay's bag is packed with examples of equipment that has comfortably outlasted the industry's typical product cycle. His 718 AP2 irons date back to a Titleist release that first hit shelves in late 2017, while his SM7 wedges were released in 2018 and have since been followed by multiple generations of Vokey replacements. Perhaps most remarkably, Cantlay also carries a Titleist 915 fairway wood, the same as Justin Thomas, a model that originally launched in 2014 and remains one of the oldest clubs featured anywhere on this list.

The AP2s aren't an off-the-shelf set either. Cantlay's irons feature a specific leading-edge grind tailored to his preferred turf interaction, along with tungsten weighting that lowers the centre of gravity and adds forgiveness without sacrificing the compact profile elite ball strikers prefer. He has tested newer iron options, including Ping Blueprint S irons, but ultimately returned to the AP2s.

Cantlay is one of the most meticulous equipment users on tour, which makes his setup particularly interesting. This isn't a player who's indifferent to technology or reluctant to experiment. It's a player who has repeatedly tested newer alternatives and still chosen to stick with what performs best. His wedge setup tells the same story: at various points he has carried SM7, SM8 and SM9 wedges simultaneously, selecting each loft and grind on its own merits rather than automatically moving into the newest release. His bag is a perfect example of performance, not release date, driving equipment decisions at the highest level.

Russel Henley

Henley's bag mixes old and new more deliberately than almost anyone else on this list, but the throwback pieces do a lot of the heavy lifting. His Titleist TSi3 driver dates back to 2020, his TS3 3-wood all the way back to 2018, and the bulk of his irons, 5-iron through 9-iron, are the original Titleist T100 from 2019. He's tested newer Titleist drivers, including the TSR2 and the current GT3, even putting one in play for a tournament win, but kept finding his way back to the TSi3 by the end of the week.

The TS3 fairway wood is the standout piece of old equipment in the bag. Now nearing a decade old, it's outlasted several generations of Titleist fairway wood since, and Henley plays it at a slightly higher loft than standard to turn it into more of a precise scoring club than a pure distance option. The 2019 T100 irons tell a similar story: a compact, accuracy-focused players' iron that's remained the backbone of his set even as Titleist has released at least two newer T100 iterations in the years since.

Henley isn't precious about every part of his bag. He moved into newer wedges and a newer hybrid-replacing fairway wood when the data supported it. But the driver, 3-wood and irons that have anchored some of his best tour performances have stuck around year after year, proof that even players willing to experiment elsewhere know exactly which clubs aren't worth touching.

What Tour Pros Teach Us About Equipment

The pattern across all 10 of these bags is the same: performance wins, every time, over release date. None of these players are short on equipment deals or sponsor pressure to play the newest stuff. If anything, most of them have direct access to next year's prototypes before the public even knows they exist. They still choose older clubs because those older clubs perform better for their specific swing, ball flight, and feel preferences.

It's also worth pointing out just how far up the world rankings this pattern holds. As of June 2026, three of the top five players in the Official World Golf Ranking, Scottie Scheffler at number one, Matt Fitzpatrick at number four and Russell Henley at number five, all appear on this list. This isn't a quirk limited to journeymen or players running out the back end of their careers. It's standard practice among the very best golfers alive right now.

Tour pros also have something most amateurs don't use enough: real data. Launch monitors, spin numbers, dispersion patterns, strokes gained breakdowns. When a player like Hovland eventually does switch equipment, it's because the numbers told him to, not because a new driver hit the shelves. That data over marketing mindset is the single biggest lesson amateurs can borrow from how tour pros approach their bags.

Why Newer Doesn't Always Mean Better

Golf manufacturers operate on annual release cycles, and that's a business reality worth understanding before you buy. A new driver or iron set every year keeps a brand in the conversation, on shelves, and in golf media coverage, but it doesn't mean every single release represents a genuine performance leap.

Look at Cleveland's wedge lineup, the same one behind Matsuyama's RTX4's. The newer RTX6 and RTZ models moved to a harder steel alloy specifically to resist groove wear over time, a genuinely useful upgrade for a weekend golfer who plays the same wedge for years without regripping or replacing it. But it also changes the feel and sound at impact compared to the softer forging in the older model, which is exactly the kind of tradeoff a touch-and-feel player like Matsuyama has no interest in making. The "upgrade" solves a problem he doesn't have at the cost of something he relies on.

Cantlay's wedge history tells a similar story from a different angle. He's carried SM7, SM8 and SM9 heads simultaneously rather than swapping the whole set every time Vokey released something new, picking whichever loft and grind suited a specific shot rather than assuming the newest model was automatically better across the board. Three release cycles, and the right tool for the job wasn't always the newest one.

That's the pattern worth remembering: most year over year gains are genuinely marginal, a tweaked face pattern, a small CG shift, a new finish on the same underlying platform, while marketing tends to flatten every release into "most advanced yet" regardless of how much actually changed. Occasionally a true breakthrough does arrive. More often, the real difference between this year's model and last year's is something only a robot testing rig or a tour pro chasing a specific number would ever notice.

What This Means for Amateur Golfers

If tour pros, who have access to literally anything they want, and people whose entire job is to know exactly which clubs suit them, are happy gaming clubs that are five, six, even ten years old, that should change how you shop for your own bag.

Stop chasing release dates. Start chasing fit. A properly fit club from a few years ago will outperform an off the rack purchase of this year's flagship release for most golfers. Shaft, length, lie angle, loft, grip size: all of that matters more to your results than whether the model name has a "26" on it.

That's exactly why the secondhand market deserves a real look, not just a passing thought. Previous generation drivers, irons and fairway woods, many of them the exact same clubs you've just read tour pros are still using in competition, are widely available secondhand, often for a fraction of the original retail price. A driver that cost £500 new can frequently be found in excellent condition for under £200. The forgiveness, the distance, the feel: it's almost all still there, because the technology hasn't moved on nearly as much as the marketing suggests.

A couple of things to keep in mind when you're shopping secondhand. Forgiveness matters most for the majority of golfers, so look for larger heads, perimeter weighting and high MOI rather than the lowest spin numbers on the spec sheet. And match the driver to your game: beginners and higher handicappers want forgiveness and easy launch, while faster swingers will benefit more from adjustability and shot shaping options.

Buying secondhand also frees up budget for the parts of your game where precision genuinely moves the needle: a proper fitting, a wedge setup that matches your short game, a putter that fits your stroke. Spending less on the driver because a two or three year old model does the job just as well means more to spend where it counts.

Conclusion 

The best players in the world aren't swinging old clubs because they're sentimental or stubborn. They're swinging them because those clubs work, and working matters more than being new. That's the lesson buried in all 10 of these bags: performance is the only metric that counts, and a release date has nothing to do with how a club actually performs in your hands.

Next time you're tempted to upgrade purely because a new model just dropped, take a page out of Scottie Scheffler's book, or Brooks Koepka's, or Aaron Rai's. Get fit properly, look seriously at the secondhand market, and remember that some of the best clubs in the world right now are the ones nobody's marketing anymore. 

Shinnecock Flashback: Shop the Clubs That Won the US Open

It's US Open week, so we're taking a look back at the last time this major championship was held at Shinnecock Hills, back in 2018. That year, Brooks Koepka became the first golfer in almost 30 years to win back-to-back US Opens, grinding out a one-over-par 281 on what's widely regarded as one of the toughest major setups in history.

Shinnecock Hills is no stranger to hosting the US Open. This year's championship marks the sixth time the tournament has been held there, following previous editions in 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018, making it the only club to have staged the US Open across three different centuries. One of the USGA's five founding clubs, Shinnecock has long been considered one of the toughest tests in golf, and its return in 2026 has plenty of fans and players thinking back to that brutal 2018 finish.

What's worth remembering: at the time, Koepka's clubs were premium, top-of-the-range equipment, the same gear plenty of golfers would have been chasing in the pro shop that summer. Fast forward to today and that exact tour-level kit, driver, fairway wood, irons and all, is now sitting in the second-hand market at a fraction of the original price.

Here's what was in Brooks Koepka's bag the last time the US Open came to Shinnecock, and where you can pick up the same or comparable clubs for a fraction of retail.

Brooks 2018 US Open WITB

• Driver: TaylorMade M3 (9.5°) Released in 2018, the M3 was TaylorMade's flagship driver the same year Koepka won at Shinnecock. It introduced Twist Face, a curved face designed to correct off-centre hits, alongside a Hammerhead slot for a bigger sweet spot and an adjustable Y-Track weight system.

• 3-Wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL (16.5°) The M2 launched in 2017 and remains one of the most trusted fairway woods on tour. Koepka still has the exact same model in his bag today.

• Driving Iron: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3-iron) Nike stopped making clubs back in 2016, but this driving iron was a fixture in Koepka's bag throughout his major-winning run, including at Shinnecock, and he still uses it to this day. 

• Irons: Mizuno JPX 900 Tour (4–PW) Released in 2017, the JPX900 Tour is a forged player's iron built using Mizuno's PowerFrame technology, blending the look and feel of a blade with extra forgiveness on off-centre strikes. 

• Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (52°, 56°, 60°) The SM7 wedges came out in 2016, featuring Spin Milled grooves and a progressive centre of gravity for added spin and consistency, and were a staple in tour bags for years.

• Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2. A tour-only build of one of the most iconic putter shapes in golf. 

• Ball: Titleist Pro V1x remained the most played ball in professional golf for around 25 years, still used by roughly 70% of players on the PGA Tour.

A Run That Belongs Among the Greats

Shinnecock wasn't a one-off for this bag, it was the middle chapter of one of the most dominant major runs in modern golf. Koepka had already won the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills with this same setup, then backed it up at Shinnecock in 2018, won the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive just two months later, and completed the run with a fourth major at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. That's four majors in under two years, with a lot of the same clubs in the bag throughout. Koepka became the first player in history to hold the US Open and PGA Championship titles back-to-back at the same time, a feat that puts the equipment behind it in some pretty rare company.

What Makes Shinnecock Such a Brutal Test

Part of the reason Koepka's 2018 win still gets talked about is the course itself. Shinnecock Hills is consistently ranked among the hardest US Open venues, and it's not down to one single thing, it's a combination of factors that punish even the smallest mistake. The fairways look generous from the tee, but the firm, sandy soil means the ball runs out and effectively shrinks the target. The greens are the real challenge: many are pitched above their surrounds with sharp run-offs on the edges, so anything slightly off line doesn't just miss the green, it rolls 30 or 40 yards away from the hole. Add in a fast bent and poa annua grass mix with very little grip, constant coastal wind, and bunkers with firm sand that demand a clean strike, and you've got a course that plays a lot harder than it looks. It's why a one-over-par winning score in 2018 wasn't an embarrassment, it was a genuine reflection of how unforgiving Shinnecock can be.

The Real Takeaway: Today's Tour-Level Gear is Tomorrow's Second-Hand Bargain

The M3 driver, M2 fairway wood and JPX900 Tour irons in Koepka's bag at Shinnecock were exceptional clubs, capable of winning the toughest major in golf. The only reason they're not still front and centre in pro shops is that golf brands release new models every single year. A club doesn't lose its performance the moment a successor is announced, it just loses its place on the shelf.

Koepka himself is proof of this. He's still using that same TaylorMade M2 Tour HL 3-wood today, alongside a Nike Vapor Fly Pro driving iron that hasn't been manufactured since 2016, because they're trusted, proven, and they still perform at the highest level. Years on, they're still doing the job for one of the best golfers in the world.

It's proof of something we say a lot at Next2newgolf: clubs age fast in the public eye but not on the course. A well-maintained, properly fitted second-hand driver or iron set can still perform at the highest level. You're just not paying the "new release" premium.

Conclusion

This week, with the major returning to one of America’s oldest and most prestigious courses, a new name will be added to a list of Shinnecock champions that includes Raymond Floyd, Corey Pavin, Retief Goosen and Brooks Koepka. Whoever lifts the trophy, and whatever's in their bag, one thing's for sure: in a couple years, you'll be able to buy it second-hand from us too.

A beginner's guide to golf clubs

Starting the game of golf can feel overwhelming for beginners, and a large part of that is the equipment we use. There are drivers, woods, hybrids, driving irons, iron sets, wedges and putters. Dozens of golf brands, all claiming to be the best, and a price range that runs from a couple hundred pounds to several thousand. The good news is you don't need to perfectly understand all of this before getting started and you certainly don't need to spend a fortune. 

This guide will break down all the different types of clubs you'll come across, what each one of them is for, the main brands worth knowing, and most importantly what a beginner should actually be carrying. By the end you'll know enough to put together a sensible bag without wasting money on clubs you wont use or can't hit yet. 

Main takeaways

• The rules allow up to 14 clubs in your bag, but beginners rarely need all 14 to start with.

• Forgiveness matters far more than distance or looks when you're learning, so game improvement clubs are your friend.

• Hybrids are one of the most beginner friendly clubs you can own and should usually replace your hardest to hit irons.

• All the major brands make excellent beginner gear, so the bigger decision is buying smart rather than chasing a particular badge.

How many clubs can you carry?

The rules of golf allow a maximum of 14 clubs in your bag at any one time. That's the ceiling, not the target. Plenty of beginners feel they need to fill all 14 slots straight away, but that just means carrying clubs you can't yet use and spending money you don't need to spend.

A typical full bag is made up of a driver, a couple of fairway woods or hybrids, a set of irons, a few wedges and a putter. As a beginner you can comfortably play and improve with far fewer than that, and we'll cover a sensible starter setup near the end. First, let's go through what each club actually does.

The driver

The driver is the biggest club in the bag and the one designed to hit the ball the furthest. It has the largest head, the longest shaft and the lowest loft, and it's used almost exclusively off a tee on longer holes where you want maximum distance. 

It's also the hardest club in the bag to hit consistently, which is worth knowing as a beginner. The long shaft and low loft make it less forgiving than your other clubs, so mishits get punished more. The trick is to look for a driver built for forgiveness, with a large head, a high moment of inertia (MOI) and often a slight draw bias to counteract the slice that most beginners fight. You don't need to chase the fastest, lowest spinning tour driver. You need one that stays stable on off centre strikes and gets the ball in play.

Fairway woods

Fairway woods are the next longest clubs after the driver. They have smaller heads than a driver and a bit more loft, and as the name suggests they're designed to be hit off the ground from the fairway, though you can also tee them up on shorter holes where the driver is too much club.

Woods numbers generally vary from 3, 5, 7 and 9, each representing a different loft and length of club. The higher number the wood, the higher loft the wood has, meaning getting the ball in the air is easier but it will travel a shorter distance. The typical lofts for each of these fairway woods are 15º, 18º, 21º and 24º.

As fairway woods are quite tricky to hit consistently off the ground, the higher lofted options like the 5, 7 and 9 woods are generally more beneficial to beginners as they can more consistently get the ball in the air.

Hybrids

Hybrids are arguably the most beginner friendly clubs you can own, and if there's one type to pay attention to as a new golfer, it's this one. A hybrid blends the design of a fairway wood and an iron, giving you a compact, confidence inspiring head that's far easier to launch than a long iron. One of the biggest advantages to having hybrids in your bag is how versatile they are, they can be used from the tee, fairway and even the rough. 

Long irons, the 3, 4 and sometimes 5 iron, are notoriously difficult for beginners and even many experienced golfers to hit well. They have low loft and small heads, which leaves very little room for error. A hybrid does the same job, covering those longer distances, but gets the ball up in the air with far less effort and stays forgiving on mishits.

The standard advice, and it's good advice, is to replace your hardest to hit long irons with hybrids of a matching number. Many beginners carry two or even three hybrids and rarely regret it.

Driving Irons

Driving irons sit between a hybrid and a long iron, and there are many different types of driving iron. In this case I'm generally referring to all types of long irons, utility irons and driving irons. Designed to hit low, penetrating ball flights from off the tee or from the fairway on longer holes. You'll often hear them referred to their numbers such as 2 iron or 3 iron. 

The appeal is a strong, low ball flight that holds its line in the wind. Often used more around "links courses" where the wind speed is higher and the ground is firmer so you get more roll out on each shot. The major trade off to all of this is they are much harder to hit than regular hybrids or high lofted woods. The smaller heads and low lofts leave little margin for error, while also requiring a high clubhead speed just to get the ball up in the air. 

For these reasons, driving irons are not well suited for beginner golfers. A hybrid or a high lofted wood would do a much better job for someone just starting. It's worth knowing what they are and what they can do though as they may be beneficial down the line once you develop the speed and consistency.

Iron sets

Iron sets make up the bulk of your set and are used for the majority of your approach shots into the green. A set is numbered, traditionally running from around the 4 or 5 iron through to the pitching wedge, with each club getting progressively more lofted and shorter. Lower numbered irons go further and are harder to hit, while higher numbered irons are shorter, more lofted and more forgiving.

For beginners the key distinction is between game improvement irons and players irons. Players irons have thin toplines, small heads and minimal offset, and they're built for skilled golfers who want to shape shots. They are unforgiving and not what you want when you're learning. Game improvement irons, often known as cavity back irons and sometimes taken further into the super game improvement category, are the opposite. They have larger heads, wider soles, thicker toplines, perimeter weighting and offset designed to help you get the ball airborne and flying straight, even when you don't catch it cleanly.

As a beginner, game improvement or super game improvement irons are always the right choice. 

Wedges

Wedges are your highest lofted clubs, used for shorter approach shots, chipping around the green and getting out of bunkers. There are four common types.

The pitching wedge is the lowest lofted and as mentioned above usually comes as part of your iron set, typically around 44º-48º. The gap wedge fills the distance gap between your pitching and sand wedges, either 50º or 52º. The sand wedge is designed, as the name suggests, for bunkers and soft lies, with a loft of 54º-56º. The lob wedge is the highest lofted and used for short, high shots that stop quickly, and can be anything 58º and above.

As a beginner you don't need all four. The pitching wedge that comes with your irons plus a sand wedge will cover almost everything you face early on. You can add a gap or lob wedge later once you've developed a feel for your distances and your short game.

The putter

The putter is the club you'll use more than any other, since it's how you roll the ball into the hole once you're on the green. Despite that, it's often the most overlooked club for beginners.

Putters come in two broad shapes. Blade putters are smaller and more traditional, favoured by players with a particular putting stroke and a preference for feel. Mallet putters have larger, heavier heads with more forgiveness and alignment aids built in, which makes them easier to aim and more stable on off centre strikes.

In recent years, we've seen the introduction of a third type of putter, the zero torque. These are designed to limit the face rotation through the stroke to get more putts going straighter towards the hole. Although they represent a major leap in putter technology and theoretically help make putting easier, I would suggest against beginners buying zero torque putters purely from a cost perspective. 

For most beginners a mallet putter is the easier club to start with. More than anything, a putter needs to feel comfortable and look good to your eye, so this is one club genuinely worth trying before you commit.

Shafts and Flex

All clubs you'll encounter will have a specific shaft and flex that comes with it, so it's worth gaining a basic understanding of what it means. Drivers, woods and hybrids commonly come with graphite shafts, which are lighter and help generate more clubhead speed. Irons, wedges and putters generally come with steel shafts which are heavier and offer more control, though graphite shafts are increasingly common and a good option for slow swing speeds. 

The flex of a shaft refers to how much the shaft bends during the swing, ranging from extra stiff down to ladies flex. The faster you swing, the stiffer the shaft you require. The full breakdown of the flexes going from firm to soft include; extra stiff, stiff, regular, senior, ladies. Most beginners would start on regular flex unless they have a particularly fast or slow swing speed. Getting it roughly right does matter though as a shaft that is too whippy or too stiff will make it harder to launch and keep the face pointing in the right direction. 

Different shafts also tend to come in different weights, the weight you require will generally come down to the tempo of your swing and how strong you are. If a beginner is relatively strong and has no difficulty in producing a high clubhead speed then a heavier shaft will slow his swing down, helping create a better tempo which will help overall consistency in the long run. 

Major Golf Brands

Every major golf brand makes excellent beginner friendly equipment, so you'll always have plenty of choice out there. There's a handful of names that dominate the game, often thought of as the big five, followed by a number of other strong brands well worth knowing.

The big five are Ping, Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade and Cobra. Ping has a long standing reputation for building some of the most forgiving and reliable clubs in the game, and their game improvement irons and draw biased drivers are particularly beginner friendly. Titleist sits slightly more towards the better player end, especially with their irons, wedges and putters, though the quality is superb if you want clubs to grow into. Callaway is known for forgiving irons and clever face technology that filters down through every price point. TaylorMade is a powerhouse for distance and forgiveness, especially in drivers and fairway woods, with a range that runs from beginner gear all the way up to tour clubs. Cobra rounds out the five with exceptional innovation, most recently with their 3D printed line of clubs that offer high level of forgiveness in compact aesthetically looking heads.

Beyond the big five, there are several other brands that deserve a mention. Mizuno is renowned for the feel of its irons and is a favourite among purists. Srixon offers excellent performance and value across its irons, woods and golf balls. Cleveland is a specialist in the short game and makes some of the most popular and forgiving wedges in golf, a great shout when you come to add to your set. Wilson combines a long heritage with strong value, and is particularly well known for beginner friendly clubs and package sets.

The takeaway is that you can't really go wrong with any of these brands as a beginner. We stock all of them, and the more important decision is not which brand you choose, but which models in particular. 

What should a beginner actually buy?

In my opinion, although you're allowed up to 14 clubs in your bag, most beginners are better off starting with around 10. It goes without saying that those clubs should be forgiving, game improvement models that are easy to get up in the air and easy to hit. As for what to actually carry, the minimum you need is a driver, one long game option in either a fairway wood or a hybrid, ideally with plenty of loft so you can use it consistently, an iron set running from the 5 iron down to the pitching wedge, since a 4 iron is generally too difficult for a beginner to hit, a sand wedge to cover your short game and chipping, and finally a putter.

A setup like this gives you everything you need to play the course while leaving room to grow into your game. Carrying fewer clubs actually makes learning easier, since you've got fewer options to second guess and you'll quickly get a feel for the distances each club covers. Over time you'll work out which clubs you hit well and feel confident standing over, and which gaps in your bag are worth filling, whether that's an extra wedge for more control around the greens or a hybrid to replace a tricky long iron. Building your set this way means every club you add is one you've chosen for a reason, rather than filling your bag to the brim from day one and wasting money on clubs that barely leave the bag.

It's also worth thinking about buying second hand. Quality used clubs from the big brands cost a fraction of the new price, which keeps your costs down while you're still finding your feet. It means you can get into better, more forgiving gear than your budget might otherwise stretch to, and there's far less pressure to commit when you're still figuring out what suits your game. For a beginner building a first bag, used clubs are the smart way to get properly equipped without overspending.

Conclusion

Golf equipment seems complicated from the outside, but the fundamentals are simple. Understand what each club does, lean towards forgiveness while you're learning, don't carry clubs you can't yet hit, and buy smart rather than expensive. Get those basics right and you'll have a bag that genuinely helps you improve, without spending more than you need to. The rest comes with time on the course.

Graphite vs Steel Iron Shafts: Which Is Right for Your Game?

Choosing the right iron shaft can have just as much impact on your performance as selecting the right clubhead. For beginner golfers, one of the biggest decisions you'll face when buying irons is whether to play graphite or steel shafts. While steel has traditionally been associated with control and consistency, modern graphite shafts have become lighter, stronger and more sophisticated than ever before. In this guide, we'll compare graphite and steel iron shafts, explain the key differences, and help you decide which option suits your swing and playing style.

Main takeaways:

• Graphite shafts are lighter than steel, helping slower swing speed golfers generate more clubhead speed, higher launch and greater distance

• Steel iron shafts offer a firmer, more consistent feel and are generally better suited to faster swing speeds and lower handicaps

• Modern graphite technology has closed the gap on feel and accuracy, making material choice less clear-cut than it once was

• The right shaft comes down to your swing speed, ball flight, physical comfort and budget, not assumptions about which material is superior

What Is the Difference Between Graphite and Steel Iron Shafts?

At their core, graphite and steel shafts are simply made from different materials, and that single fact has a knock-on effect on almost everything else: weight, feel, price and who they're best suited to.

Steel shafts are made from carbon steel or stainless steel and are manufactured by drawing or rolling metal into a tube shape. They've been the standard in iron play for decades, and their construction means they're incredibly consistent from shaft to shaft. Graphite shafts, on the other hand, are made by wrapping sheets of carbon fibre around a mandrel and then curing them under heat and pressure. The result is a shaft that can be engineered to be significantly lighter than steel while still being strong and responsive.

Weight is really the headline difference. A typical steel iron shaft weighs somewhere between 90 and 130 grams, while graphite iron shafts tend to come in between 50 and 85 grams. That might not sound like much, but over the course of a swing and over 18 holes, it makes a meaningful difference for a lot of golfers.

It's also worth knowing that both materials come in a range of flex options, but they don't overlap completely. Graphite shafts are available across the full spectrum, including ladies and senior flexes, which are specifically designed for slower swing speeds. Steel shafts, by contrast, typically start at regular flex and go up through stiff and extra stiff. As a beginner, if you're not yet generating a lot of swing speed, you'll find that graphite simply offers more options that are tailored to your stage of the game.

Pros and Cons of Graphite Iron Shafts 

The biggest advantage of graphite shafts is the weight saving, and everything else tends to flow from that. A lighter shaft means less overall club weight, which makes it easier to generate swing speed without having to work as hard. For beginners who are still developing their swing, that extra speed can translate into a noticeably higher ball flight and more distance, both of which make the early stages of learning the game a lot more enjoyable.

Graphite shafts also absorb vibration more effectively than steel. If you've ever hit a cold, thin shot and felt that sting travel up your arms, you'll understand why this matters. For beginner golfers who are still making plenty of mishits while learning, that extra comfort can make a real difference over the course of a round.

There are some drawbacks to be aware of, though. Graphite iron shafts are almost always more expensive than their steel equivalents, and because there's such a wide range of manufacturers and quality levels out there, performance can vary quite a bit between budget and premium options. Some golfers also find that graphite feels slightly less stable at impact, particularly on off-centre strikes, though this is far less of an issue with modern, high-quality graphite than it used to be.

One practical point that often gets overlooked is durability. Graphite shafts can chip or crack if clubs bang together in the bag, which is something a lot of golfers don't think about until it happens. Using a bag with individual dividers for each club is a sensible precaution if you're playing graphite irons.

Pros and Cons of Steel Iron Shafts 

Steel shafts have stood the test of time for good reason. They offer a consistent, solid feel at impact and provide clear feedback on where you've struck the ball. For players who want to work on their ball striking and really feel the difference between a well-struck shot and a mishit, that feedback can be genuinely useful, though as a beginner you may find there are more important things to focus on first.

Steel shafts also tend to be more affordable, which is worth considering if you're just starting out and not yet ready to invest heavily in equipment. They're also extremely durable and you really don't need to worry about them chipping or cracking through normal use.

The main downside for beginner golfers is weight. Heavier clubs require more effort to swing, and if you're still building your technique and strength, that extra weight can work against you, leading to lower ball flight, less distance and more fatigue over a full round. Steel shafts also absorb less vibration than graphite, so mishits can feel more punishing, which isn't ideal when you're still finding your feet.

Who Should Use Graphite Iron Shafts?

Graphite iron shafts are a great fit for a wide range of golfers, and beginners sit right at the top of that list. The lighter weight makes the clubs easier to swing and helps generate the ball flight and distance needed to build confidence on the course. When you're still learning the game, anything that makes it a little easier to hit the ball well is a genuine advantage.

Seniors are also a natural fit. As swing speed naturally decreases with age, graphite's ability to help maintain speed and distance becomes really valuable. Golfers dealing with joint pain, arthritis or any kind of upper body sensitivity will also find graphite a more comfortable option thanks to the reduced vibration. And it's not just higher handicappers who benefit; plenty of mid-handicappers have made the switch and found real gains in distance and launch, particularly with the longer irons.

Who Should Use Steel Iron Shafts?

Steel shafts tend to suit golfers who already have a reasonably quick and consistent swing. If you're generating good clubhead speed and looking for a shaft that gives you precise feedback and a solid, predictable feel, steel is likely to serve you well.

Competitive players and low handicappers often favour steel because the consistent feel helps them shape shots and control trajectory with confidence. If you prefer a heavier overall club weight and find it helps you feel the clubhead through the swing, steel is worth prioritising. And if budget is a consideration, steel is almost always the more affordable route, both upfront and when it comes to getting clubs re-shafted down the line. For most beginners though, the performance trade-offs of steel make it a harder sell unless you're naturally athletic and already swinging with plenty of speed.

How to Choose the Right Iron Shaft

The most important starting point is your swing speed. If you're new to golf and still building your technique, the chances are you're not yet generating a huge amount of clubhead speed, and that's completely normal. In that case, graphite is almost certainly worth a serious look, as the lighter weight will help you get more out of your swing at this stage of your game.

Beyond speed, think about your ball flight. If you struggle to get the ball airborne with your irons, a lighter graphite shaft could give you the launch you need to start hitting more consistent shots. Physical comfort is also worth factoring in. If you're playing regularly and want to protect your joints, graphite is a sensible choice regardless of your handicap.

Where possible, get fitted. Even a basic fitting session will give you real data on which shaft type suits your swing, rather than relying on guesswork. And if you can demo both before committing, do it. The difference in feel is often quite striking when you try them back to back.

Graphite vs Steel: Quick Comparison

Conclusion

The best iron shaft isn't necessarily graphite or steel. It's the one that complements your swing. For most beginner golfers, graphite is likely to be the more forgiving and enjoyable starting point, offering lighter weight, higher launch and more comfort while you're finding your feet. Steel remains a fantastic option for players who prefer a heavier feel and consistent feedback, but it tends to suit those who are already swinging with speed and confidence. Rather than getting caught up in assumptions about which material is "better," focus on your swing speed, your playing goals and your physical comfort, and trust what the data and your own feel tells you.